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It looks as though President Trump's Cabinet will be confirmed as nominated, with the exception of course of Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz, currently the subject of disciplinary proceedings by the Florida Bar.
Pam Bondi, Howard Lutnick and Scott Bessent appear to be tracking to confirmation, although Lutnick's confirmation paperwork is reportedly incomplete, creating a delay.
OFAC is sanctioning Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan (Burhan), the leader of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), under Executive Order (E.O.) 14098, “Imposing Sanctions on Certain Persons Destabilizing Sudan and Undermining the Goal of a Democratic Transition.”
This action follows the designation of the leader of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Mohammad Hamdan Daglo Mousa , on January 7, 202 .[13310]. In addition, OFAC is sanctioning one company and one individual involved in weapons procurement on behalf of the Defense Industries System (DIS), a procurement arm of the SAF that OFAC sanctioned in June 2023.
The United States today designated eight individuals who organized and executed the commemoration of Republika Srpska (RS) Day on January 8-10, 2024 in support of RS President Milorad Dodik’s secessionist agenda. Seven of those sanctioned today also helped plan and organize the 2025 commemoration. RS commemorations have been determined to be unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court. Directed and overseen by Dodik, they are emblematic of Dodik’s longstanding efforts to undermine the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement, a cornerstone for regional peace and security.
In cooperation with the Vatican, the Biden Administration made several meaningful diplomatic concessions in a negotiation for the release of political prisoners by the Havana regime.
"We are taking several steps to support the Cuban people as part of an understanding with the Catholic Church under the leadership of Pope Francis and improve the livelihood of Cubans," said Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. Cuba has announced that it will release from prison 553 people “convicted of various crimes.
The U.S. Trade Representative has issued findings in the Section 301 investigation of the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) targeting the maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding sectors for dominance, concluding that the PRC’s targeted dominance in these sectors is unreasonable and burdens or restricts U.S. commerce, and is therefore “actionable” under Section 301.
As the petitioner U.S. unions have highlighted, the entrenchment of the PRC’s dominance means that U.S. international trade is “carried out on vessels made in China, financed by state-owned Chinese institutions, owned by Chinese shipping companies, and reliant on a global maritime and logistics infrastructure increasingly dominated by China.”
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said Thursday it has reached an agreement with Colombia aimed at strengthening the two countries' defenses against investor-state claims in an underlying trade pact,
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai met with Minister Luis Carlos Reyes of Colombia’s Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Tourism to announce a mutual agreement on a Free Trade Commission (FTC) decision under the United States-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement (TPA). The decision provides an official interpretation of the TPA’s investment chapter provisions.
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